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I just finished "Open Cockpit", the accounts of a WWI biplane pilot who flew much of the war over the front lines on patrol. It is his own unpolished account, but gave a very good image of what it was like. I suppose all war is brutal, but WWI had it's own unique for of brutality.
At the moment I am reading Travels with Charley. It is interesting and enjoyable. But it does not feel groundbreaking or earth shattering.
LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by ToomuchStuff
I just finished: Japan, A Cultural History. It was published at some point in the 1970s, so it is dated, but the photography is beautiful, as are the prints. I saw one of a Japanese woman with long hair riding an early bicycle...I am trying to find it online, but I may scan it. I love photos and art of people on bicycles. Bicycles make me think there's hope for the world!
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It has some good tips but other things I disagree with. For instance, I am not going to stop stocking up on items when they are on sale.
I recently read The Forgetting. It was light reading, a tale of reincarnation based on Dr. Ian Stevenson's work. Pretty believable scenario, if your mind goes there.
Read "The Rosie Project" It's an entertaining novel, easy to stop and start. Think of Sheldon Cooper on Big Bang in search of a wife ...
I am reading Straphanger about transportation without cars. Also looking forward to reading The Mandibles about an economic collapse in the near future and how one well to do family's comfortable life comes to a halt.
The Mandibles sounds like a good one but I hope it's not too near future.Quote:
Originally Posted by pinkytoe
I am 1/3 of the way through "The Fact of a Body" by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich. I would describe it as cathartic. It's really two stories in one book, alternating back and forth by chapters. One a memoir of growing up with a grandfather who molested her. The other about defending a child molester who murdered a six year old boy. The author , an attorney who is against the death penalty. I have to admit that it has stirred up emotions and challenged me intellectually. Met my expectations.....which is hard to do.
I am reading Orphan #8 by Kim Van Alkemade. It's a novel based on true events, disturbing but hard to put down.
The Plot to Hack America, by Malcolm Nance.
Not normally a history buff but just started reading a fascinating book called The Best Land Under Heaven about the Donner-Reed trek from Missouri to California in the 1800s.
Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates - Brian Kilmeade
Flipping among:
This Life is in Your Hands: One Dream, Sixty Acres, and a Family Undone. A memoir by Eliot Coleman's daughter--Eliot Coleman is/was a disciple of the Nearings whose 3 year old daughter drowned in a pond on their property.
The Art of Living by Thich Naht Hanh.
Touch by Courtney Maum (fiction)
Spiritual Ecology: 10 Practices to Reawaken the Sacred in Everyday Life by Llewellyn Vaughn-Lee.
Having a month off is so awesome!!
Finished "All the Light We Cannot See." Historical fiction by Anthony Doerr, and a Pulitzer Price winner and NY Times #1 bestseller.
Loved it, so beautifully written and also educational like the best historical novels are. Set in Europe in WWII. One reviewer said it "moves with the pace of a thriller" which is a good description.
Handbook for Flower Shows, 2007 edition.
I have a big test in 4 weeks which, if I pass, will signal the end of my "student judge" status and I will be an accredited National Flower Show judge.
Along the same lines, I am skimming a few chapter in the Iris Judges's handbook because I am taking a 5 hour class on Saturday toward judges' accredidation in Iris judging.
For fun reading I am, inspired by my trip to Transylvania, reading two books about gypsy culture.
Exploring Gypsiness: Power, Exchange and Interdependence in a Transylvanian Village
And
American Gypsy:a memoir.
The first is an academic ethnography and is a bit dry but it also
has interesting observations about how gypsies do and do not integrate with their Romanian fellows in a specific village.
The second one is a self published biography about a Russian family of gypsy musicians who relocated to the United States. The author, a daughter in the family, is both proud and annoyed at the behavior of her parents that is stereotypical of their culture.
The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess traces the cancer gene BRCA, handed down for hundreds of years within the Jewish population until it surfaces in New Mexico's Hispano community. It weaves several threads that interest me--genealogy, Spanish-American history, crypto-judaism, DNA science--into one complex story line.
I'm also reading a lot of fiction, mysteries mostly--thanks to BookBub and my Kindle app--because they're entertaining and don't require much thought. I haven't read this much fiction in years.
And that fiction is making you a better person, isnt it? Haha, just kidding.Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneV2.0
I am a Louise Penny fan and her latest, Glass Houses, is both a very good mystery with the familiar characters and a good insight to the complexity and challenges in dealing with the opioid crisis.
This is such a great thread!
I am reading Candide -- never read it before, but I always wanted to. It is pretty good.
So I am on this kick where I am not reading things that are totally disturbing or depressing. I read all five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy.
Then I read another Hermann Hesse book.
Now, Candide.
What book is next...?
I read 2-3 books per month, generally non-fiction.
Currently reading Evicted, by Matthew Desmond. Based on anecdotes about a landlord and various tenants (all fictionalized) in Milwaukee, as well as facts about the housing situation, Desmond makes the case that eviction is a cause of urban poverty, not just a feature.
That is on my winter list to read. I like reading an occasional "social problems" book.Quote:
Originally Posted by dado potato
Just finished Dream Hoarders which is about class in America. The author is British and claims that class distinctions are now worse in America than Britain and cites many examples.
This thread is blooming! so many ideas and not enough time! We just read The Purple Hibiscus...beautiful writing, fast moving but way too dreary for me- abuse in Nigeria. The Alice Network about women spies in WW1- fictionalized but based an several true characters- was interesting, got a bit romance-like, but overall a good read. I also loved All the Light, Lainey, the second read was even better as I knew the plot. ( Both my book clubs read it several months apart and as I have the memory of a gnat I re read it. )
A $500 House in Detroit.
Hallelujah Anyway.
I'm also a Louise Penney fan, but her last 2 books seem to be a bit of an overreach for me, plot-wise. However I love her characters and learning about that part of the world.Quote:
Originally Posted by razz
dado, I think you mean to say the tenants' real names were not used, but that otherwise their situations were true to life. A very powerful, well-documented and well-researched book. I think Desmond did a TED talk on this too. He also lived there for months while he researched it, and has said that after the book was published he went into a depression (almost like PTSD). It's still a very good read, very informative.Quote:
Originally Posted by dado potato
If by "better" you mean conversant with multiple methods of mayhem...:devil:Quote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
I just read a biography of another strong woman: Dorothy Day, written by her granddaughter, Kate Hennessy. Loved it.Quote:
Originally Posted by pinkytoe
I picked up Those Who Watch by Robert Silverberg last night. I will likely start it tonight.
Red mars
Green mars
Blue mars
Amy Knight's Orders to Kill--the Putin Regime and Political Murder just popped up in an email from my library. I'm in the middle of Tami Hoag's mystery Secrets to the Grave as well.
I don't know how many of these I will finish, but I have started:
L'Art de la Simplicite
Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve
Nobody's Son
At the Point of A Cutlass
The Health of Nations: The Campaign to End Polio and Eradicate Epidemic Diseases
When We Rise
The Return: Fathers, Sons and The Land In Between
All are nonfiction.
Finished "The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper" for a book club group. I had a hard time in the beginning. It is a British author and had to look up much of the slang/British vernacular. It was an otherwise easy entertaining read.
I’m reading, “The Other Wes Moore”....One Name, Two Fates. It’s not a new book by any means, written in 2011. I ran into the book at my daughters house laying on the kitchen counter. If I see a book, I pick it up and thumb through it. I like holding books.
My daughter is a prolific reader which is funny because we held her back one grade in elementary school and she had to have a reading specialist help her with certain deficiencies. Math is another story. She’s is very good with numbers and frugal to a fault. Is that possible? Anyway, she asked me if I wanted to read it. I am always interested in what my children are reading. Yes, sure. But what’s it about?
Turns out it’s about two African American kids with the same name, growing up in the same urban locale. One becomes a Rhodes Scholar , the other a murderer serving a life sentence.
Now this book would definitely disappoint you if you thought the answer to why each one ended up where they did would be resolved within its covers. Unfortunately it’s not that simple. I’m not interested so much in that as I am that ability of people to make choices....good ones and bad ones. There’s no doubt by inference you can believe that family mentors make a difference but there are plenty of examples of people without much assistance at all that made something amazing of their lives. And some who were provided everything that failed tremendously.
So Im reading this book with lower expectations than most I think. Still, I hope to get some insight into the mind of successful versus the “disposable” .
Re-reading The Convivial Codfish by Charlotte MacLeod. Part of a fun, if somewhat silly, mystery series.
I've seen the author on TV and also read an essay about it, although not the entire book. Would be curious to what you think when you finish.Quote:
Originally Posted by Williamsmith
I also like your idea of reading a book that a relative or friend has read, it's a great way to connect on another level with our loved ones. I have done this multiple times with siblings and friends and we always enjoy the recommendations and our discussions about it afterwards.
Agreed. Its' fun to be able to discuss a book with someone. I had a "one woman book club" this summer with my DIL, who is a prolific reader. We chose the book Touch by Courtney Maum. I also gave my copy of the Dorothy Day biography, The World Will Be Saved By Beauty, to my daughter who is not Catholic, but she's always been a social activist, plus she shares her birthday with Dorothy Day. It's a great story, anyway. So far she is appreciating the historical backdrop of New York in the era of Emma Goldman and Eugene O'Neill.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lainey
I'm currently reading a wonderful book by Gene Logsdon--A Sanctuary of Trees. It's part memoir, part love story for the trees, part field notes.
Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment, by Robert Wright
Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body, by Daniel Coleman and Richard Davidson
Since my last visit long ago, I have really gotten into meditation, and just a bit into the secular side of Buddhism (though I in no way consider myself a Buddhist). Right now I'm on a kick studying up on the science side of the whole thing, since I've read a couple dozen books on the how-to.